Australian banker backs bond move

Another leading central banker linked with the Bank of England job heaped praise on his European counterparts today for easing the pressure on strugglers like Spain and Italy.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens — the self-styled “most boring man in Sydney” who emerged as a late potential candidate — welcomed the European Central Bank’s programme of emergency bond-buying unveiled in September.

Stevens said: “There is a long way to go in Europe, but to give some credit where it is due, I think we’ve had a number of event risks in the past months that were successfully managed by our European colleagues.”

His comments came as IMF managing director Christine Lagarde and Germany finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble appeared to clash over the pace of austerity measures. She said Greece should be given a “bit more time” to meet its commitments, but Schäuble warned: “We have to stick to what we announce, and we have to implement it step by step. If you want to go in some direction, you must not start to move in the opposite direction.”